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SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 3 in E flat, Op. 97 "Rhenish." Symphony
No. 4 in D minor, Op. 120 DVORÁK: Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70. The Golden
Spinning Wheel, Op. 109. BRAHMS: Piano Trio No. 1 in B, Op. 8. Piano Trio No. 2 in C, Op. 87. Pentatone concludes their Schumann symphony series with Lawrence Foster and the CPO with this disk of the last two; the first two were mentioned on this site almost a year ago (REVIEW). They were recorded during live concerts in Prague's Dvorák Hall in October 2007; the two now released date from live concerts in the same venue April 2008. These are respectable rather leisurely performances, and I miss the boldness and vitality of Szell's definitive recordings from 1958-1960. Kreizberg continues his Dvorák cycle (he already has recorded symphonies 6, 8 and 9 for Pentatone) with this coupling of Symphony No. 7 and the symphonic poem The Golden Spinning Wheel, the latter highly repetitive score presented totally without cuts. Excellent playing; the Netherlands Philharmonic acquits itself admirably throughout, particularly the horns. The engineering is close-up doubtless to minimize audience sounds; a touch more hall ambience would have been welcome. The Storioni Trio (Bart van de Roer, piano; Wouter Vossen, violin; Marc Vossen, cello) already has made two fine recordings for Pentatone; their SACD of two Schubert piano trios was mentioned on this site (REVIEW). Now they have another winner, the first two of the three trios for piano and strings of Johannes Brahms. The recording was made in Concertboerderij Valthermond in the Netherlands in December 2007. A brief (7:00) bonus is a DVD that shows these young artists performing the scherzo from Trio No. 1. Excellent sound, with performers in front. R.E.B. (June 2009) |